Our planet is full of mystery and wonder. There are so many things that even scientists are only just discovering, from new species to secrets hidden deep within the ocean, archaeological finds and much more besides. In 2022 alone, we’ve unearthed Africa’s oldest known dinosaur, uncovered the reason for Namibia’s mysterious Fairy Circles and even found the oldest known written sentence. These are the top scientific discoveries of the year so far...

In Rutland, England, the fossilised remains of an ichthyosaur – also known as a sea dragon – were found in February 2021, with the resulting research published in early 2022. The impressive and well-preserved skeleton was first found during a routine draining of a lagoon at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. It's the biggest and most complete skeleton of its kind ever found in the UK, and scientists also believe it's the first of its species, known as Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, to be discovered in the country.

In January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano in the Pacific Ocean exploded, releasing an enormous column of water and ash. Months later, studies revealed that the explosion was the largest ever recorded: it was the only eruption ever known to have broken through the mesosphere (penultimate) layer of the atmosphere. Sadly, the spewing volcanic eruption had devastating impacts back here on Earth, triggering vast tsunamis which displaced thousands of people. 

Learn more about the world's most active volcanoes here

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London are at the forefront of horticultural research, with dozens of new plant species discovered here every year. But in July 2022, scientists announced a particularly exciting find: an enormous species of water lily called Victoria boliviana. The species is thought to be the largest in the world, with leaves up to 3.2 metres (10 feet) in diameter. Native to Bolivia, the gargantuan plant shown in this image was grown in the Gardens’ Waterlily House from seeds donated by Bolivian scientists. 

In August 2022, scientists in Morocco discovered a terrifying fossil which offers a window into what once swam at the bottom of our oceans. Described as a cross between a Komodo dragon, great white shark, killer whale and T-rex, the fossil was named Thalassotitan atrox, which means 'dreadful titan of the sea'. The ancient sea creature lived around 66 million years ago and measured 40 feet (12m) in length. The team that found the fossil believe that the creature spat out its prey’s bones, some of which might still lie fossilised nearby.

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One of many finds uncovered by this year’s droughts, in August 2022 ultra-dry conditions revealed huge dinosaur tracks in a muddy riverbed at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas. Said to belong to an Acrocanthosaurus, a 15-foot-tall (5m), seven-tonne early cousin of the T-rex, the tracks are around 113 million years old. Another species, the Sauroposeidon, measuring 66 feet (20m) tall and weighing a whopping 44 tonnes, is also likely to be responsible for some of the prints. Although the park is famed for its dinosaur tracks, this is the first time these particular footprints have been seen.

In September 2022, scientists named the oldest known dinosaur to have been discovered in Africa. The skeleton of the newly-named Mbiresaurus raathi, which was strikingly intact, was found in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe over the course of two digs in 2017 and 2019. The early dinosaur roamed the Earth some 230 million years ago and was a type of sauropod – a subgroup that could weigh up to 120 tonnes.

In China’s Yunnan Province, scientists recently discovered the remains of an early gibbon, which fills a massive gap in the fossil record and could unlock knowledge about the evolution of apes (and therefore, humanity). As reported in a study published in September 2022, fossils of the hylobatid family of apes are extremely rare, and the only ones discovered previously dated back just two to three million years. This new specimen was around seven to eight million years old.

While most of the new species discovered each year are invertebrates, fish and plants, occasionally scientists describe a new type of mammal. In September 2022, researchers announced the naming of a new species of sloth, the southern maned sloth (Bradypus crinitus), which lives in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and has a head like a coconut. Previously, only one species of maned sloth was thought to exist, but genetic and physical analyses revealed that there are actually two. 

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Some 66 million years ago, a huge asteroid hit Earth and wiped out almost all the dinosaurs. But a recent study has confirmed the impact – hitting Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula (pictured) – also triggered a colossal tsunami with mile-high waves, which radiated outwards for thousands of miles. The study, published in October 2022, presented the first-ever computer simulation of the Chicxulub tsunami, which was said to be strong enough to disturb undersea sediments halfway across the world. 

In October 2022 a new study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, revealed that the first animals on Earth may have evolved earlier than even our oldest fossils suggest. The current fossil record indicates that animal life originated on Earth between 572 and 602 million years ago, after a huge ice age. However, this new research (conducted using molecular biology) suggests that animal life could date back up to 850 million years. If correct, the research suggests animals could have lived in extreme glacial periods, when the planet was covered in ice. 

One of the most striking species discovered in 2022 was this beautiful rainbow-coloured fish, Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa. The Maldivian species, known as the rose-veiled fairy wrasse, was found in the Indian Ocean's mesophotic zone, which is between 131 and 230 feet (40-70m) underwater. Like other species of wrasse, it changes in both sex and appearance as it gets older, shifting from female to male and becoming more brightly coloured (in order to attract a mate).

These strange gaps in the grassland, which number in their millions and are found in the heart of the Namib Desert, have puzzled scientists for decades. But new research has finally answered the question of how they’re formed. According to scientists at Germany's University of Gottingen, the grasses outside the circles suck up water from within the circles, causing the grasses inside to die and creating the striking formations. The research finally solves the mystery of the bizarre phenomena, which were previously thought to have been created by termites. 

Read about more of the planet's greatest mysteries

Another scientific discovery with far-reaching implications was this strikingly well-preserved baby woolly mammoth, which dates back to the last ice age. When it was first uncovered, in deep permafrost in the Yukon’s Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory, Canada, researchers were stunned. Its perfectly preserved skin, trunk, toenails and hair made it the best woolly mammoth specimen ever found in North America. 

Among 2022's stranger pieces of scientific research was this study on honeybees. Conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol, the study measured electrical fields near swarms of honeybees and found that the insects were capable of producing as much electrical charge as thunder clouds. The findings are unique in demonstrating that living organisms can have an impact on atmospheric electricity. 

In November 2022, scientists announced the discovery of a 285-mile (460km) river beneath the Antarctic ice sheet – that’s longer than London’s River Thames. The river was found using a series of aerial surveys, in which an ice-penetrating radar was mounted onto an aircraft to map the landscape from above. It’s thought that the river might accelerate ice loss as the moving water can eat away at the ice sheet from below.

Scientists recently found an enormous seagrass forest with the help of some unlikely participants: sharks. The research, which was carried out in the sea surrounding the Bahamas, involved strapping cameras onto tiger sharks and getting them to film the ocean floor. This allowed scientists to collect vital data, and proved that a forest stretching 35,000 square miles (92,000 sq km) covers the Caribbean seabed – the largest seagrass forest currently known to exist. 

It might not be a discovery on Earth, but a new piece of research points to the existence of a previously unknown 'super-Earth' planet. Super-Earths are essentially rocky planets at least twice the size of our own, some of which lie within habitable zones of their suns. The newly-discovered planet, TOI-1075 b, isn’t habitable as its temperature is an estimated 1,050°C (1,922°F) and its surface might be molten lava. But at 10 times the size of Earth, it’s among the largest super-Earths ever discovered, and could tell scientists important information about how planets like ours are formed.

During the Devonian period over 300 million years ago, around 70% of all life on Earth died out. Now, a new piece of research has suggested that the evolution of tree roots may have triggered the series of extinctions that occurred during that time. According to the study’s authors, tree roots are thought to have filled oceans with excess nutrients, causing the rapid formation of destructive algae blooms, which in turn depleted oxygen levels in the water and led to mass extinctions. 

It might not look like much to modern eyes, but the scrawls on this ancient comb are actually a written message. In fact, this is the oldest known sentence ever discovered, believed to date back to around 1700 BC. The comb was unearthed in south-central Israel in 2017 and is made from ivory, containing 14 teeth for the removal of head lice. Written in Canaanite script, the earliest known alphabet, the newly-deciphered sentence says: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”

Most people are familiar with mummification, the process by which ancient Egyptians treated and wrapped their dead. But until recently, the reasoning behind it was misunderstood. The prevailing theory since Victorian times was that the technique was simply for preserving the human form. Now, a new exhibition will argue the process was actually used to transform corpses into a shape the gods would accept, in order to steer the deceased towards divinity. The research will be unveiled to the public at a new exhibition, Golden Mummies of Egypt, coming to Manchester Museum on 18 February. 

Discover more secrets of the pyramids

Some 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but just where did it come from? That question may have been answered by an unlikely source: this meteorite, which was discovered in a family's front garden in Winchcombe, England last year. A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, revealed that the meteorite contained water similar to that found on Earth, which suggests rocks from space may have brought water and other components onto our planet billions of years ago.

Huaca Pintada – a magnificent 30-metre mural dated to the 9th century – was pretty impressive when it was first uncovered in northern Peru a century ago, and it's just as good second time round. A group of grave robbers first unearthed the work in 1916, but destroyed part of the wall when they were forbidden from looting their find, causing the site to fall into obscurity. Now a team of Swiss-Peruvian student archaeologists have dug the mural back out of the dirt after a two-year battle to excavate the privately-owned land, revealing vibrant images of mythical scenes. The (re)find was described by local academics as "the most important in recent years".

Just ask Doctor Who – it's lonely being the last of your kind. Benjamin the thylacine, more commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger, died of exposure in Hobart's Beaumaris Zoo in 1936, just 59 days after the species was granted far-too-late legal protection. A wolfish marsupial with tiger-like stripes, the thylacine was wiped out by hunting, habitat loss and disease, and the remains of the last living creature were long thought lost. After decades of unsuccessful searching, the animal's pelt and skeleton have now miraculously reappeared in a vault at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, their absence apparently the result of administrative error.

Three years ago France watched in horror as Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral – a symbol of the city and country – sustained devastating damage from a fire that led news bulletins the world over. But amidst the embers archaeologists made a remarkable discovery: two sarcophagi buried beneath the cathedral centuries before. Now the coffins have been opened and their occupants identified: an elite 17th-century clergyman and a young horseman nicknamed 'Le Cavalier'. The former was a canon named Antoine de la Porte, who commissioned paintings now in the Louvre and died on Christmas Eve, 1710 aged 83. The younger body bears signs of illness and injury, but is otherwise more mysterious.

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